Umbrella, sunshade, parasol, and the like.



v G. J. BERMAN. V

UMBRELLA, SUNSHADE, PARASOL, AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED was, m5.

1,174.; 16. v I Patented Mar. 7,1916.

enonen J. anew, or nnw YoaK, N. Y.

UMBRELL, SUNSHADE, PABASOL, AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

Application filed August 5, 1915. Serial No. 43,724.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. BERMA-N, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county,

and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Umbrellas, Sunshades, Parasols, and the like, of which the following is a specification.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide an inexpensive article of the class stated which'may be made of such low cost as to be sold'for a trifling sum by department stores, drug stores, street vendors and the like. Thus the article is well adapted to what may be called emergency use, as, for

example, in the event of an unexpected shower, or unexpected great heat.

Generally stated, the structure comprises 4 a body part made of fluted and preferably waterproof fabric of an inexpensive kind, such as a suitable quality of paper or fabric, with which is suitably combined a stick or handle and means to hold the article in its erected position for use, and also in its colla iased position, when not in use. I

' eferring to the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the umbrella folded; Fig.2 is a view of the upper part of the umbrella showing the construction and arrangement when the umbrella is erected asfor use; Fig. 3 is a detail showing one method of'constructing the body part;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 4-4: of Fig. 2 ;F ig. 5 is a plan view, 5 partly broken away, showing a modified construction. i

1 represents the body part. In the first instance it is usually or preferably in the form of a flat disk of paper or fabric, as 4 illustrated-in Fig. 3. This material is fluted radially,

the disk I form an upwardly extending socket-like portion 3, see Fig. 2. In some qualities of material it will be necessary to 5 soften it before subjecting it to the fluting and pressing operation adequate to form the socket 3. It may be desirable to'treat other kinds of material with a suitable adhesive and stiffening material, such as a waterproof starch or size, so that the fluting and the socket-like centralpart 3, when once made, may retain their proper shape and position.

'4 is the stickof the umbrella or like article: It may be of metal, bamboo, wood,

or equivalent inexpensive substance. Y

, Phragm as shown at 2, and at the center of I 5 is what I call the cone, or expander. It

is preferably made of sheet metal, such as tin, and across its central part is a diawhich is provided at the center, as at 7, with a hole through which the stick-1 passes. The stick is provided with resilient snaps'8, 8, adapted to fold under pressure within suitable slots made in the stick, as in the case'of ordinary umbrellas. The ceni-. cal expander 5 is notrigidly attached to the stick, on the contrary, is adapted to slide leriligthwise thereon so as to be adapted to di erent positions.

9 is a piece of rubber or similar elastic material, which, during the construction of the body part, is passed through the inner apices of the flutings, as shown clearly in Fig. 4, and its ends unite in such manner that itwill be put under considerable stress when theumbrella is expanded and erected for use, and thus draw the body part snugly down upon and holding it secure against the outer conical surface of the expander or cone 5.

When the device is to be folded, the resilient snaps 8, 8, are pressed inwardly, thus releasing the conical expander 5, which thereupon drops downwardl toward the lower end or handle of the stic The elastic band 9 thereupon collapses the body part down upon the stick, as shown in Fig. 1, the conical expander is then pushed up under the lower ends of the flutings, which are received within the upper recessed part of the expander resting against the diaphragm or partition 6, which preferably extends from side to side across it, and a pin 10 (see Fig.

1) is then passed through the stick 4 below the diaphragm 6, whereby the expander is maintained in its then position and the fluted body part securely held against dis-,,

placement and injury.

To erect the "device, the pin "10 is withdrawn, the conical expander is dropped sufli ciently to release the lower ends of the flutin s, the operators hand is then inserted su ciently to expand the flutings somewhat, whereupon the expander is shoved-upwardly again, and e'nga ng with the inner surface of the flutings o the body part, presses them evenly and smoothly outwardly in all directions until the ex ander had reached the position shown in ig.2, when it passes both of the resilient supports 8, which hold it firmly in its elevatedposition and it in turn ion holds the body part in its extended position,

the fiutings being stretched apart as shown and held firmly to the expander by the clastic band 9, which is put under stress by the ex ansion of the body part.

n order to add somewhat to the security of the structure,,I prefer to furnish the end of the stick with a cap 1l, whi'ch may be fastened in place by pins 12, 12, which pass through the sides of the-cap, through the socket 3 9f the body part, and likewise through the stick. Instead of pins, however, I may use a single pin'or nail 13 driven through the top of the cap which will similarly secure it in place. In order that the structure may be reinforced at the point where the elastic 9 passes through the fiutings, I sometimes prefer to attach as by a suitable waterproof paste or adheSi e material, a reinforcing disk 14 (see Fig. 5) about the central portionof the body part, through which the elastic 'material 9 will pass as well as through the fiutings of Y the body part. This reinforcing piece may be applied upon the body material either before or after the fluting operationpis performed. I prefer to do so before that operation because if so, it will be fluted together with the material of the body part, thus adding to the strength of the edges of the miliar with such matters that modifications may be made in the details of construction of the parts; also that there may be substitution of material; also that the conical expander may be made of sufficiently strong material other than metal, as, for instance, leather board. I do not illustrate any of these details because they form no essential part of the invention and may be extensively varied. It will be noted that an umbrella or sunshade made under my invention will be exceedingly low in cost and yet will be found to have a degree of serviceability that is quite astonishing inview of the relatively' perishable material used in its construction. Furthermore the device readily lends itself to very effective decoration and it also affords a desirable opportunity for effective because unusual advertising, so that. storekeepers, particularly department stores, will find the device an important adjunct to their advertising system.

. I claim:

1. An article of the class-stated embodying aradially fluted body part, an elastic member passing through the fiutings adapted to collapse the body part, a stick, an expander movable longitudinally upon the stick and means to holdthe expander in its elevated position expanding the body part and putting the elastic member under stress.

2. An article of the class stated embodying a radially fluted body part, an elastic member passing through the fiutings adapted to collapse the body part, a stick, an ex pander movable longitudinally upon the stick and provided with means to receive and hold the free edges of the fluting when the body part is collapsed, and means to support the expander when holding the free edges of the fiutings. N

3. An article of the class stated embodying a radially fluted body part, an elastic member passing through the fiutings adapted to collapse ,the body part, a stick, an expander movable longitudinally upon the stick and provided with means to receive and hold the free edges of the fiutings when the body part is collapsed, means to support the expander when holding the free edges of the fiutings and other means to support the. expander when in its elevated position expanding the body part and putting the elasticmember understress.

4. An article of the class stated embodying a radially fluted and collapsible body part the center of which is formed into a socket, a stick one end of which is adapted to enter the socket, means passing through the socket and entering the stick, whereby the stick is permanently held in the socket, an expander movable longitudinally upon the stick and adapted to hold the body part in its expanded and collapsed positions, and means to support the expander in both positions.

5. An article of the class stated embodying a radially fluted and collapsible body partthe center of which is formed into a socket, a stick one end of which is adapted to enter the socket, means passingthrough the socket and entering the stick,.whereby the stick is permanently held within the socket, an expander movable longitudinally upon the stick and adapted to hold the body part inits expanded and collapsed positions, means to support the expander in both positions, and a reinforcing and finishing cap inclosing the socket.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE J. BERMAN. 

